Meta has been making mixed-reality headsets for a while now. (Image: Meta)
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that the Quest 3 is better “for the vast majority of things that people use mixed reality for.” Here’s the complete story.
In the world of mixed-reality headsets, Meta stands as one of Apple’s primary competitors, featuring its more budget-friendly Quest lineup. Despite notable differences in pricing—Meta Quest 3 at $499 compared to the hefty $3,499 for Apple’s entry-level Vision Pro—inevitable comparisons arise. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently took to Instagram, sharing a video in which he articulates why he believes the Meta Quest 3 surpasses the Apple Vision Pro in various aspects.
According to Zuckerberg, the Quest 3 excels in serving the “vast majority of things that people use mixed reality for.” He says that Apple’s headset is 7 times more expensive than the Quest 3, claiming that the Quest not only offers better value but is, in his opinion, the superior product overall.
Zuckerberg underscores several points in favour of the Quest 3:
– He said that Quest 3 also has passthrough capture, just like the Vision Pro, and users can have multiple windows open.
– Comfort is another significant area where Zuckerberg believes his offering is superior to Apple’s. He mentioned that the Quest has no wires to get in the way and is lighter, making it feel less significant on one’s face.
– He highlighted that Meta has a wider field of view, brighter screens, but Apple does offer a higher resolution display.
– He mentioned that the Apple Vision Pro has a sort of “motion blur when you move around,” but Meta Quest 3 stays crisp.
– Quest 3 has precision controllers for better gaming, which Apple’s offering lacks. Additionally, he believes Meta offers users better hand tracking.
– You can play Xbox games and watch YouTube natively; an app for Vision Pro could be coming.
As a parting note, Zuckerberg said, “Now look, I know that some fanboys get upset whenever somebody dares to question if Apple is going to be the leader in a new category, but the reality is that every generation of computing has an open and a closed model. And yeah, in mobile, Apple’s closed model won. It’s not always that way. If you go back to the PC era, Microsoft’s open model was the winner. In this next generation, Meta is going to be the open model, and I really want to make sure that the open model wins out again. The future is not yet written.”
That said, Meta has a long history of producing headsets, with products spanning multiple generations, including the Oculus Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3, and even the Quest Pro. Additionally, there are reports of Apple working on a more affordable version of the Vision Pro for the mass market. It will be interesting to see the fast heating mixed-reality race in the future. One certainty is that increased competition translates to better products for consumers.
